Egott92

After my 2nd procedure (2200 grafts) Dr. Konior said I had a good amount left - probably 5-7k, I think? I’m only 29 so I should anticipate further loss, but I’m on a pretty strong cocktail of topicals (topical dutasteride + minoxidil) so hopefully those’ll give me plenty of time until I need more work.

Actually it's hard to see but on a section of the right side of my head/scar it did widen significantly but that was my own fault. I hit my head on a wall 4 days post-op and opened up a few sutures. At least it wasn't my recipient area, and as you mentioned nothing 20-30 grafts can't (hopefully) fix

They actually said I can place my head on a pillow and lay down normally but just to be careful not to roll around too much. I thought they'd make me sleep vertically. I guess gentle pressure was fine, but any left/right tugging while laying down was not. Recovery and post-op was honestly a breeze this time with FUE. I used to get topical dutasteride from Strutyours.com, but recently moved to California and they don't service CA, so now I order it from Happy Head. I'm pretty sure Strut and Happy Head are the only two providers offering topical dutasteride at the moment, so your options are unfortunately limited.

Nope, just on topical dutasteride (0.25%) and topical minoxidil (8%). As for donor area, I've posted donor pics from when it was healed and grown in before on this thread - please scroll back to find them. It's basically invisible, but I want to be able to cut my sides shorter so during my recent crown FUE procedure Dr. Konior put around 250 grafts into my FUT scar, which is why it's bright red. See image below.

No major update, other than I had my 2nd procedure (~2,100 FUE) with Dr. Konior for my crown last month (Jan 5). I think I'll create a thread once results are in. I had to shave my head for the crown procedure, but here are some pics I took around the month before out in the wild. This would have been ~9-10 months post-op. Obviously thrilled with the result.

That's right, I am not taking any oral meds. Immediately after the procedure I took oral finasteride (twice a week) plus oral minoxidil (daily). The intention was just to help expedite results. It was fine for 3 or so months, but once I saw growth I tapered off and decided to return to a topical solution -- mostly because I preferred not to have this stuff go systemic, and the effects of topical solutions are generally thought to be more localized. I did try to bump up my oral finasteride dose to 3x per week at around month 3 and started to feel some slight depression. I was going through life stuff at the time, so I can't exactly say it caused it (and perhaps there was some placebo at work), but it was enough for me to want to return to topical rather than oral treatment.

I've actually switched to a topical dutasteride solution (0.1% dutasteride and 7.5% minoxidil from Strutyours.com) and I think I've seen some thickening throughout my scalp, but at a minimum definitely no more loss. I use it once a day before bed. No side effects whatsoever.

Thanks! Hmm, I don’t believe so. I tried to take a few angles and I don’t see the scar significantly more prominent in that angle.

Thank you! It's down to about a 3 guard here. I probably can get it down lower without revealing the scar, but I actually prefer this length for work.

Melvin coming up clutch with the side-by-side! I appreciate you and appreciate this forum man. Seriously so grateful for everyone's support and willingness to share their experiences in the wild wild west of hair restoration.

What scar? This is with flash and bright lights, so it's totally invisible in everyday lighting.

Hey guys. So, here are the ~6 month updates: Suffice to say, I have the hair of my dreams now and the results have honestly been life changing. I've attached 3 photos with flash and harsh lighting, and then another photo my friend took of me out in the wild. Even with the harshest lighting, I'm incredibly happy with the density and naturalness. I just wanted to say thank you to this forum for directing me towards Dr. Konior and making this result possible. I have my second procedure scheduled with Dr. Konior for my crown in January (~2,200 FUE), so will make another update then.

Thanks man! Appreciate it. So happy with the results, especially now coming up at about 5 months.

You got it! And nope not anymore. I had it for the first 2 months or so but scalp feels just about back to normal now. All feeling has returned too.

Thank you bro! I have been on topical finasteride for about a year, and only recently switched to topical dutasteride. Right after my surgery, I did try oral finasteride 2x a week with no issues so bumped it to 3-4 and started experiencing depression so immediately discontinued and returned to topical solutions. It’s hard to tell if I’m getting the same benefit as oral finasteride since I only used it for about 2 months. I have a PhD so I’m adept at reading research studies, and so what I can say is that the published studies looking at oral versus topical finasteride show comparable efficacy. In other words, topical finasteride appears to show similar effectiveness as oral finasteride. There are no studies to date on topical dutasteride, but in theory given it’s potent anti-androgen effects it should work just as well (if not better) than topical finasteride - although still unclear since they have different molecular weights and that may affect absorption. In short, I’d continue speaking with Dr. Konior and listen to all his advice. He’s a clinician scientist - he’s published tons in this area - so he really is the expert Good luck!

I decided to try and see the outcome but I also discussed it with Dr. Konior. He was happy to give it a shot. I part my hair to make sure I get it into the scalp and then I massage it into my scalp for about 20-30 seconds until I feel like it's spread around evenly. The solution is greasy so it'll take some time after you finish massaging for it to fully dry. As long as it's on the scalp I think it's fine. Good luck

Thanks! Yes, I was on topical fin before and over last month or so I started to try topical dutasteride. The formulation is 0.1% dutasteride with 7.5% minoxidil + biotin. I use it once a day and I'm not sure about ml. It comes in a little bottle and the instructions say to apply up to 20 tiny drops to the scalp. I get my formulation from Strutyours.com

Looking totally normal! I continued using raw aloe vera leaf on my suture line after 2 weeks up until around ~1.5 months and it really helped with soothing. I'm not sure if that'll help with the headache though Dr. Konior even said I could put it on the recipient area, but I didn't feel like I needed to.

4 Month update: Finally starting to fill up and already pretty happy with the results

Thanks! Definitely not worried, very excited. Do you by any chance have 3-month photos of your progress you'd be able to share (or links to your original hairline procedures)? I've tried searching your earlier results but haven't been able to find them.

Hang in there! I didn't see anything until the 3rd month, and I'm on a pretty intense cocktail of meds (daily oral minoxidil, and topical dutasteride). You've gone to the best -- it's only up from here

Thanks so much for the feedback!

3 month update: Houston -- we have lift off! Finally some growth, particularly on left side (3rd pic), right side (4th pic) has some catching up to do. FUT scar is still healing and pink (particularly on left side where I bumped my head post-op and opened up a suture). Sides are buzzed to 3.5 guard. Hairline: FUT scar:

You may very well be the lucky 1% who keeps most grafts and avoids the ugly duckling phase. Unreal!

If you have aggressive balding and don’t mind keeping your hair longer (>4 guard on sides) then I’d recommend FUT to preserve and maximize future donor. Of course, it’s always best to speak to your doctor to weigh pros/cons.